Dragon Dream
by AriArlene
Summary: Allia, a descendant of Hiccup, ends up in a very interesting situation. Birke is a college town, but she doesn't recognize it anymore...Rated T to avoid offending anyone.
1. Chapter 1 Meeting People

It was so strange. My friend Donna and myself were hiking in the foothills by my home when we stumbled upon this, thing. There was a mound of earth that had been disturbed by some animal or another and it looked like there was something buried.

"Come on, Donna! It could be buried treasure!" I had said, joking as I knelt to dig. She just rolled her eyes.

"If it were buried treasure, we wouldn't have been the first to find it would we? It's all dug up and exposed, honestly Allia." She shook her head, but knelt down beside me doing her best not to laugh. Needless to say she didn't get far.

"You can't possibly know that. We aren't the least lucky people on the planet." I nudged her arm as I dug a little off the top of the mound.

"I won't comment on-" She stopped min-sentence, which was unlike her enough that it gave me pause. I stopped laughing and followed her gaze. Something black and smooth was resting on the newly opened earth. I picked it up tentatively and felt a tremor within it. I jumped a little which prompted a questioning look from Donna.

"What?" She asked, concerned.

"It...nothing. I think I was just surprised by an animal or something." I shook my head. I had to have imagined it.

"Well, what are we gonna do with it?" She asked me. I was caught off guard, I never thought we'd actually find anything.

"I...I guess I could take it to the college Monday. I have that mandatory Geology course. It may not be something they can identify, but someone will be able to tell us something I'm sure." I shook my head and stood up with this mysterious new treasure. When the light hit the rounded surface it glimmered. Placing it into my bag I packed some cloth around it and turned back to Donna. "Well, I'm just about done here, it's gettin' hot. How 'bout we get lunch?" She looked at me like I was crazy. That wasn't unusual in itself, but she looked worried.

"Are you sure?" She looked back down at the mound with apprehension.

"Yeah, we've been out here for hours already." I shrugged. "Plus my bag is gettin' kinda' heavy." I grinned at her and she was satisfied.

"Alrighty then. Where ya wanna go?" She took up a stride beside me.

"I don't know, I could make burgers?" I supplied. The look on her face told me all I needed to know. I laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." We slapped a high-five and were on our way chitchatting about this or that. I was as into it as usual, but there was that part of me that was still thinking about that twitchy motion I felt.

By the time we had eaten lunch we had decided to part ways to do homework. We both knew we would never get anything done together. I had to do a research paper for my English class about the history of our little town, Birke. All I knew right off was that we used to be an island inhabited by vikings. Through time and volcanic activity we had become attached to the mainland and a whole lot bigger. I sat with that strange new finding, hoping to find something that would explain it in my studies. Due to the volcanic activity it would have been less than impressive if it were simply a volcanic mineral, but I doubted that.

About an hour passed with no luck other than pulling down some information from the town archives. Interestingly enough the town's first chief had been Stoic the Vast. I did a quick trace on my family tree and found that I was a direct descendant of Hiccup and his wife Astrid. I was a however many greats granddaughter of the second chief of Birke. Cool, I thought. Hiccup was Stoic's son, and would take over the tribe later in life, but more interesting is what he did when he was still young. He formed Birke academy. That was my College, it was supposed to be the first dragon training academy.

Dragons are extinct though. The more I thought about the notion the more I denied it. Dragons were extinct. Plus, my landlord would kill me, and what would I feed it? I laughed and hopped down from my counter top stool to grab something to drink and stretch my legs.

"Dragon egg." I scoffed. "Ridiculous." However, I wasn't convinced. I sat back down and started typing my introduction. I never got far though, before I heard something of a cracking noise. I looked around but finding nothing I returned to my paper. Although this time, when I heard it again, the thing began to shake.

"What the...?" I picked up the...whatever it was and put it down somewhere it wouldn't roll away while I watched what was happening. The outer shell started to visibly crack. "It's an egg." I whispered wide-eyed. I watched in wonder as a small, scaly, black animal was born. Although when I say small, I say it in comparison to the dragon it would become. This baby was already the size of a full-grown cat. "Uh oh." I snapped out of my stupor, snatched up my phone, and made a call.

"Hey Allia! What's up? Did I forget something?" Donna asked.

"You need to get over here." I said watching the baby dragon sneeze a flame vapor.

"Like, now?"

"Like, right now." I said. She got the point.

"Alright, urgent, gotcha. Be there in a sec." I could hear her nodding on the other end. "Bye."

She hung up and I was left there to watch this little guy until she arrived.

"The day I find out I'm the chief's great to the millionth power granddaughter, I find a baby dragon. An EXTINCT dragon. I'm not so sure if I'm the luckiest or unluckiest person on Birke. My landlord is gonna kill me. What if I'm insane? What if I'm imagining this? Oh great, crazy dragon lady. That's a few steps worse than a crazy cat lady AND I have to train this thing." I looked back down at the little one from where I stood, having stopped pacing a moment ago to see little bright eyes following me. They were big, too big for the little guy, with pupils now rounded out almost to a square. Gods help me he was adorable though.

"Hey little one." I lowered my voice and knelt in front of him, at his eye level on the chair. I held out my hand, I'm not sure why, but it felt like the thing to do. Instead of the biting or cowering I imagined, he was more like a little cat. Immediately he snuggled into my hand. I smiled.

"Oh, you wanna be friends. Okay cutie." I picked up the little lizard and snuggled him like I would a cat in my arms. He looked up at me once with those trusting eyes and nuzzled my arm before falling asleep.

I sat there with him until Donna got there. "Alright little guy what am I gonna call you?" I asked as I rubbed his head. He didn't answer so it was up to me. He opened his eyes once and snorted. "Okay, little girl?" I asked. She opened her eyes a little wider and snuggled back in. "Hmm. A little girl." I debated it for a moment and then I knew. "Star." I said. She was already asleep and I was beginning to really enjoy the idea of caring for her. When I heard the knock on my door I almost got up, but thought better of it.

"Come in!".

"What was all that about? What happened? Are you alright?" Donna asked still rounding the corner to come into my kitchen, and when she finally made it in there she stopped dead in her tracks. I brushed my spiked brown hair out of my eyes and smiled at her.

"Donna, meet Star." She shook her head and laughed up a storm in a nervous sort of way.

"Is she dangerous?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I don't think so." I looked down at the sleeping mass in my arms and smiled. "She's super sweet. It's like having a flying kitten." I said. Donna scoffed.

"Gods what do we do?" She asked. I looked up and nailed her with my green-eyed gaze she could never resist.

"What do ya mean? We love her." She shook her head. "You are a sucker for animals." I giggled.

"I know, but so are you." I said and as if punctuating my words Star sat up and gave her a sleepy sideways look that was so cute I almost couldn't contain myself. Donna melted and Star curled back up on my lap. It was amazing how easy it was for the two of us to just accept the magical creature on my lap as a beloved pet. I marveled at the easiness of it. However what happened next sent both of us for a loop we still haven't recovered from. One moment I was sitting in my living room with Donna and the next I was in a meadow somewhere down by the shore.

I recognized this place from somewhere I had been but I couldn't remember where. Not only that, but there were little dragons in the trees and sheep grazing lazily. Had I inhaled something? Paint fumes from the last art project I attempted? Maybe I had some bad meatloaf? What was going on?

"Where in the..." I wiped a hand over my face and shook my head. I looked around for Donna but she was nowhere to be seen. Star was nudging me and then looking up so I decided it might be smart to see what she was excited about. I looked up and almost jumped out of my skin. A dragon that looked a whole lot like Star was flying in for a landing in the field with a boy on his back. One of his legs was missing and he was thin, but tall. His green eyes and brown hair seemed to mimic mine, but there was something about his stature that reminded her of her dad.

"Hey there." He greeted when they landed. His fur boot made almost no sound as he landed from the back of his dragon friend. He noticed something that made one eyebrow raise and I figured it was either A-he had never seen me on the island before or B-my clothes. Both seemed likely. I stood up with the little Star still stretched out in my arm and collected myself.

"Um...hi. I'm Allia...you are?" I asked. I had to remember my manners. I took a deep breath. This was still Birke, I knew it. Maybe not the Birke I was used to, but definitely Birke.

"Ah, Hiccup." He studied my face. "Have...have I seen you before?" He asked.

"I don't think we've met actually." I grinned. "Um...I'm going to be honest though, I'm not entirely sure where I am. Maybe I'm dreaming, maybe it was magic who knows? But I'm from Birke, and I don't recognize this place so I must be lost." I attempted nervously. I wasn't afraid, but I was also making an idiot out of myself.

Hiccup put a hand behind his head and exhaled like he had just run a marathon. "Wow. Uh, I don't know how to tell you this, but...this IS Birke." I felt my jaw drop more than knew it. Star seemed to feel my unease and nudged me. I looked down and gave her a pet.

"So are you from...and this is gonna sound insane...another time?" He asked. I looked at him, the dragon, his clothes, then back at him.

"That, while extremely crazy, might actually be right. What year is it?" I asked. My stomach was doing backflips and my head was swimming. This was definitely not happening.

"420." He said. My breath caught in my breath. "When are you from?" He asked. He seemed to be taking it all so well.

"Uh...well this must be what, in my time they called AD. After recorded history. So...with that in mind I'm from the year...2014." I waited. His eyes were wide.

"Woah woah woah. That's...that's amazing!" He seemed excited.

"I don't think we should go around telling people though. I feel crazy just thinking this, so..." I took a deep breath a looked up at him. He nodded.

"Right, right. Well, that aside who is this little guy?" He asked, motioning to Star.

"Well, sounds a little silly, but I think it's a She. She got sorta indignant when I called her 'he'. But her name is Star." I said. It was easier and easier to talk to him. Everything was beautiful and I just decided to enjoy this while she could.

"Well that looks about right." He scratched her ear and she was loving it. "But she's a night-fury. I thought there were no more." He turned to his dragon. "Hey bud, look at this." The big guy lumbered over and gave Hiccup a questioning look.

"Who's that?" I asked, slightly worried but mostly enchanted. "Oh, sorry, where are my manners. This is Toothless." He motioned to his dragon friend. "He's the only night-fury on Birke. Or...he was." He smiled and gave him a scratch by the ear.

"Oh, hey there Toothless." I ventured. "Woah, so Star is going to grow into what he is?" I asked. Hiccup nodded.

"Yep. She's a cutie. How long before she would let you touch her?" He asked. I was confused.

"Oh, I watched her hatch on my couch and when I got over the surprise I, kinda put my hand out to her and she rubbed it with her cheek." I supplied. He nodded.

"Like this?" He asked and put a hand out to her. She did the same thing she had to me and I nodded.

"Yeah, and then she curled up in my lap and practically went to sleep right there." I finished. He grinned.

"Wow. You're a natural. She's definitely meant to be your dragon." He paused. "Hey, wanna learn to ride?" He asked suddenly. Taken by surprise I didn't quite catch his meaning until he climbed up on Toothless' back and held out a hand.

"Oh...I uh...sure." I don't know what suddenly prompted the trust of either the dragon or Hiccup, but for some reason I knew he wasn't trying to kill me. Call it my killer instincts. Speaking of which, someone decided it was time for an attack. Star gave a tiny little roar and perched on my shoulder. I ducked as an ax flew over my head.

If I had any question as to our assailants, Hiccup answered it.

"Outcasts! Quick, get on!" He took Star in his lap and tried to pull me up but something heavy hit me and knocked me away. Thankfully I have some fighting skills. I rolled back up onto my feet, picking up the thrown ax on my way. I lifted it just in time to deflect a mace. I leaned into a kick and sent the offending man flying a few feet onto his backside. Seeing an opening I flung down the ax (too unbalanced for my taste) and did a running leap onto Toothless who happily took off. Star peaked around Hiccup and hopped over his shoulder onto me. "

Hey little girl." I scratched her ear. I surprised myself with how worried I had been about her. I felt like she had been with me forever.


	2. Chapter 2- Fashion Sense

**I was breath taken. I almost missed the start of the riding conversation on the way to the village. **

** He thought out loud. I nodded. **

** He thought about it and agreed. **

** He assured. I shook my head and laughed. Maybe I could deal with this, one step at a time. I was worried about how time was elapsing and what was actually going on, how I was here. The best I could come up with was that I was imagining things. I must have been dreaming. **

** I decided that, for the moment, that just didn't matter. **

** Star cuddled into me and watched the clouds roll by. What happened next was truly magical. Birke came into full view while we doubled back to the other side of the island with the village. It was spectacular. I had never seen anything more beautiful. **

** I leaned around him for a better view. **

** He asked. I nodded. **

** I whispered, caught up in a moment of remembering. I missed quite a few people just then. My parents would love to see this, they would go nuts over the chance. Donna, she would have been on her own easel the moment we touched down...I gathered myself and found myself studying Star's tail a little more closely. I had to enjoy this, there was nothing I could do but make the best of it. **

** He obviously wasn't talking about flying. I didn't know how the whole tail control thing worked. Toothless, for his part, was sitting like every bit the huge happy cat that he was. I nodded. He was off. **

** Toothless and I sat together under a tree. He made a spitball fire and Star tried to copy him with a little success. He gave her a nudge and some gestures that led her in the right direction and she ended up being able to make a full sized fire ball by the time sunset rolled around. He played with her and soon they were both tuckered out. **

** With Star on my lap and Toothless curled around the both of us we fell asleep. When I woke back up I could hear someone coming over the peak. Toothless was up too, both of us watching the forest. My breath caught as I waited. **

** To our mutual relief it was Hiccup. **

** He seemed rather proud of himself, and sort of surprised to I turned to Toothless. **

** I asked. He gave me a knowing look and a nod. **

** He eyed the dragon. Toothless gave him a dry look and he waved it off. He laughed. He tossed me some armor. I looked it over and it actually seemed to be the perfect size. I slipped it on over my skinny jeans and tank top. It fit perfectly. **

** There was a metal breast and back plate that fit me like it was made for me, and some boots that came up to my mid-calf, brown fur boots far more comfortable than anything I had ever had, although I did leave my ballet flats on underneath them as they were large. **

** He commented. He motioned for my brown hair. **

** I said apologetically. I shrugged. He exchanged a look with Toothless. **

** He started walking and I followed him, with Star on my shoulder. I started thinking about what we would tell the others. **

** I offered. He gave it some thought and with a hand gesture you would expect from a college professor he decided it was. **

** He said excitedly. **

** I stopped myself, I knew where this was going. Unfortunately he found the flaw too. We were still by the lake in the cove when Star jumped off me, sensing a disturbance before the boys shared a look and shoved me into the lake. **

** My protest was cut off by my head hitting the water. I was treading water with no sucess. I couldn't reserface and panic started to creep up on me. No. No panicking. Tread water dangit! I fought to break the surface but the extra clothes were weighing me down. I thought I was going to drown when something very big grabbed my midriff and pulled me out. **

** I heard Hiccup say as he patted Toothless' head when I was on the ground. I sat up sputtering and spitting water. **

** He asked. In response I eloquently coughed up half a lung. He picked me up to standing and I shook out my hair. Star was up to my shoulder in half a second. **

** I scratched her ear thankful I had found my voice. She licked my face bottom to top and the stunned look on my face prompted giggling from Hiccup. **

** He was still laughing when we made it out of the valley and around to the beach where we jumped on for a ride. He mused on our way. From what I had read of the great Stoic the Vast he had been a kind, fair and generous chief. Hopefully her history books hadn't lied to her. I watched the sky fly by as Star played with my hair on my shoulder I couldn't help but smile. If I had been out of place before I felt like I could fit in here. **

** They gathered themselves, landing in the main square and walking over to Hiccup's house. The light was still on, so she figured Stoic must be there. Hiccup put that hand behind his head again, he was nervous. She could understand that, he seemed a lot more honest than he had to be right now, and he was worried. **

** I asked. I wanted to know what he expected me to do so I could make this easy. **

** He led me in where the giant man was carving a surprisingly finessed and tiny wooden horse. It caught me off guard and made me smile. **

** He started. **

** He smiled and when he looked up and saw her standing there an eyebrow went up. he asked, not unkindly. **

** Stoic nodded. He seemed to accept this easily enough. **

** He asked her. **

** I thought on my feet. Thank the gods for creative writing class. He nodded, frowning slightly. **

** He offered. She gave him a little smile. **

** I shook his hand, the whole conversation so easy I already felt at home. Then Star poked her head around my shoulder. **

** He asked, intrigued. I made the reach for her and she crawled right into my arm. **

** I said as I gave her a scratch. **

** He asked, surprised. **

** Hiccup added. Stoic gave a mighty laugh. **

** He patted my back and apparently me not stumbling forward startled him a bit. I was more solid than I looked. He turned back to the wood he had been carving. **

** He smiled, gave a wave and motioned her upstairs. **

** I commented. He laughed. **

** That made me laugh. After he pulled out the other bed, I fell asleep almost immediately. Dreams were interesting, and they proved at least one thing. This was as real as it could be.**


	3. Chapter 3 - New Friends

The next morning I woke up surprisingly rested, to a slightly larger night fury licking my face. She was hungry, wake up human! I giggled. Hiccup was stretching and I was already up, dressed, and ready to go. The sweater he had given me from the extras was fuzzier and warmer than anything I had ever owned, and I was grateful to have it that morning. As it turned out he armor was mostly to sell the tale. He had cleverly pounded out the Birke crest and dented it up a bit. She hadn't realized how uncomfortable it was until she changed that morning. She tucked that into the chain-link skirt and the image was complete! Viking Allia, I liked the sound of that.

"Mornin'" He said cheerily as he hopped up out of bed. Toothless was on his slate on the corner, and despite the new one he had made for Star last night, she was curled up with him on his big one. He actually encouraged this, and was caring for her like she was his own.

I stretched. I sat down on the edge of my bed and looked around. Star stretched and yawned. Unfortunately, being so young meant that she also sent a small flame onto the floor beside her.

I jumped up and stomped it out and she jumped up into my chest in confusion. I gave her a scratch and she melted.

Hiccup informed. He gave her a couple pats on the head.

I giggled. She jumped up on my shoulder and actually threw me off balance. I pulled her back around front and she sniffed at me. She jumped down and rubbed on my leg.

Hiccup motioned her downstairs.

Breakfast was fish, Star was jumping all over me trying to steal my food.

I laughed and nodded over to her dish. She went over to her dish by Toothless' and they ate side by side. Toothless put his tail around her almost protectively.

Hiccup observed. I watched them eat and couldn't help the massive grin.

I said as I finished. I followed him over to where they put the dishes as Stioc came in.

He wasn't fully awake apparently. He commented. He smiled. I must have looked a little worried because he giggled.

He gave me a tap on the shoulder and I relaxed. I don't know why he made me comfortable, but he was family. I guess it makes sense.

I asked.

He said as he walked out. I followed him nodding. It made sense. He said. I fell into step beside him.

He laughed.

He led me into Gobber's shop still laughing like madmen. I looked around in awe. It was amazing.

I asked. He seemed surprised by the genuine interest.

He offered. I nodded.

I wondered how that would work, but I didn't have time to wonder. A viking with a braided blonde beard I assumed was Gobber walked into the shop. He looked at me, the Hiccup, and I assume he drew a few conclusions.

he greeted while exchanging his missing hand's...was that a beer mug...out for a hammer. He heated some metal and began to bang out a sword. He half-asked. I nodded. I wasn't sure what else to do, I mean, he had pretty much hit the nail on the head.

He asked with something like mischief in his eye. I gave him a sideways glance.

I nodded slowly and looked at Hiccup in confusion.

That last part threw me off and Hiccup, after a moment of confusion himself, offered an explanation.

I thought about that for a second and decided I rather liked the idea. I nodded.

I clapped and Gobber did half an excited jump, I had to stifle a giggle.

He asked. I jumped on it, I had learned with double thin-blade knives for a while, and they were my best.

I saw him get excited. He probably didn't get many people that preferred them. I knew my fighting experience would come in handy someday. Who knew it would be in my past?

He tossed me a metal blank and I did as he told. It wasn't a complicated craft to be honest. It had it's skill and finesse, but when you're starting, it's not rocket science.

When we were done I had a brand new medium length, double edged blade with a blue spun handle. It was so perfect I could barely feel it. Just enough weight that it would be easy to get momentum built up behind it.

He asked me playfully. I giggled.

I swung it around once and tossed it into it's sheath and onto my back. I had always wanted a hand-forged, real version, and now I had it.

Gobber led the way to the arena. He hobbled. Hiccup and I exchanged a look that sent us both into concealing laughter.

In the arena I was in awe. The metal cage that undoubtedly used to contain various dragons for killing, was now used to contain dragons that were being trained, keeping them out of the village. I was almost completely distracted until I heard voices. A knot began to grow in my throat and stomach. I loved meeting people, but this was the far end of the extremes. I could really mess this up. Just as soon as he caught sight of me he smiled a little bigger, Gobber was already in the arena and they were alone in the tunnel.

He joked. I tried to look confident, and failed myserably.

I had a million other things to say, but I cut myself short and followed him in. Gobber gave an opening guess what happened you'll never guess and introduced me. All I heard of it, though, was the last sentence.

He finished and she gave a little half smile. He started the lesson on hand-to-hand. Everyone's dragons were hanging out by big food dish, watching their humans very carefully as we ducked and rolled. Luckily I was in good shape, what a workout!

Apparently we ended every day with one- on-one fights to demonstrate one skill or another. I was actually willing to bet, from what I had already seen, that I had more formal practice than the others. This wasn't something I wanted to come up directly, but I also wasn't going to hold back either. I had a few minuts to talk to everyone while the fights went on.

A blonde girl about my height asked. I nodded with a smile. She extended a hand and I shook it.

I smiled. They seemed friendly enough.

She asked, looking around. I thought about it and decided to be honest.

I started pointing them out. I asked. She nodded.

She laughed.

I observed. More laughing, this time easy and mutual.

She nodded to the arena. She asked. I nodded.

I challenged. She grinned in a way that reminded me of the nice kid trying to play the villain. Scary, but not genuinely mean.

She chided. Gobber seemed surprised that we were volunteering. I wondered what that was about.

I grinned. I grinned.

She laughed. I pulled my sword out and picked up a shield.

I grinned. Gobber stood between us and looked like he was trying to figure out how to build some tension. I almost laughed when he refused to move, although looked like he was going to several times. The others were watching so closely they could probably tell us how many times I blinked waiting for him to MOVE.

When he did, everything went on hyper-drive and my muscles moved all on their own. I was already on edge from the day of training and was deflecting everything thrown at me. She was strong, but I was matching her blow for blow. I wasn't thinking, I was reacting and it was beautiful. I vaulted from her shield, did a somersault over her head and landed behind her. When I hit the ground I kept going down, swinging my weight onto my sword and sending a leg under her, knocking her off her feet. I continued around to stand over her in a yield stance. To my surprise, she did.

She stood up and the arena was silent.

He asked. He seemed overly excited about the textbook fight he had just seen and I had to laugh. When no one said anything the student in my piped up.

I critiqued. I finished.

He mused. He asked. Astrid's turn.

She offered. He nodded.

He turned to the others. He eyed Hiccup. He half-threatened.

he groaned under his breath.

He turned it over to him for dragon training.


	4. Chapter 4 The Beginning

Gobber left the arena almost as quickly as he had entered.

**I mused to Astrid. **

**She explained. So many scenarios went through my mind that I figured at least one of them must be right. I left it alone. **

**He motioned to me. I must have looked confused, so he qualified, He asked. **

**I looked around for her and found her sitting very politely by Toothless. I hadn't actually trained her in any way so I didn't think she would come when I tapped my leg and called her name, but I gave it a shot anyway. I called. I was going to say more but she was running before I even got through her name. **

**She jumped into my arms with surprising force. I scratched her head and gave her a small fish from a bucket Hiccup had produced for training. I paused to think and a light raindrop fell on her head. She shook and threw me off balance. **

**I waited and the reactions were jaws on the floor. **

**Fishlegs seemed exceptionally excited about this turn of events. One thing I noticed about him immediately upon meeting him was his voice. I never would have imagined in a million years that such a tiny voice would come out of such a big kid. **

**Hiccup asked. He was fully born for teaching, I admired. I watched the others and when no one answered I looked around. **

**Star was on Toothless' head. She was trying to lift off straight and failing. Toothless was catching her every time she fell and pushing her off when she was ready. **

**Astrid said. **

**No one moved and I looked down to see the book in front of me. I looked at Hiccup. **

**He teased. He handed me a 'pencil'. In reality it was charcoal and wood bound together. I inwardly cheered. I hadn't thought about reading or writing, but charcoal was my medium of choice when it came to drawing. I started sketching the two of them together as realistically as I could while they were still in about the same place. **

**I started with Toothless and worked my way up to Star, mid-wing flap in about ninety seconds. Apparently it was more hyper real than they were used to because I got plenty of drawn breaths. **

**Fishlegs was the first to speak up when she put the sketch down. He asked. I was taken off guard. **

**I fumbled. I couldn't think of anything better to say. **

**Turning back to Star I made quick notes and a new sketch detailing size and color, then turned the book back over to Hiccup. I hoped he would get the idea that while I was pretty fluent in reading and writing the language of the viking, the grammar would be off. Actually I had no way of knowing if I was even right about the language they would write in. **

**After taking it he nodded and wrote in his own calculations. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. **

**He asked them. I hadn't been here very long, so I fully intended to watch. Hiccup had other plans. **

**When Fishlegs raised his hand in excitement Hiccup waited a moment before rolling his eyes with an ill-concealed smile. He asked, trying his best to sound bored. **

**He said, seeming confident. **

**He questioned him. **

**He asked, less confident. Hiccup nodded. **

**He looked over at me and Ruffnut started to laugh. **

**Tuffnut laughed. He scoffed. I gave Hiccup a half-questioning glance before somewhat of a watered-down villain grin graced my features. **

**I called her, she was at attention in seconds. From the time she had hatched, she had been bonded with me so well, I hoped this would pay off now. I nodded at the twins and snapped. She looked over at them in hesitation. Head cocked to the side she snorted a little bit of steam and I nodded. I added, not sure if she understood that and finding myself half-hoping she didn't. Those two really had a knack for getting on my nerves. **

**She wiggled her little but and sent plasma blast after plasma blast at the two, running after them as they fled. Hiccup, Astrid and I dissolved into giggles while Fishlegs looked around concerned and Snotlout sent his own dragon after them. With a monstrous nightmare and young nightfury on their tails, they didn't stop running for about thirty minutes. It was hard to gauge, I didn't have a watch. **

**It didn't matter though, because we had decided that Star indeed did not have a shot limit. **

**After a few riding lessons with me on Astrid's girl, Stormfly, we called it a day. I decided to explore the land around the village. Being around people all day is usually just fine for me, but when almost everyone is a stranger I get a bit claustrophobic. So there I was, down by the shore watching the ocean as the sun went down. **

**I hadn't planned on it, but I ended up sitting around there on the beach for what I imagine was about a half an hour. I thought about how happy I could be here and decided that this was more of a blessing than a curse. My parents hadn't contacted me since I'd been at college because their work kept them too busy to bother. My best friends were few and far between, and they were usually busy. **

**Basically, when I did the math, the only person likely to care or notice I was gone was my friend Donna. We had become super close when she transferred in, but she had still only known me for a year. As much as I wanted to believe it, I knew she wouldn't have any problem forgetting I existed. I loved it here, I fit in. **

**When the sun finally set, Star climbed up on my shoulder and I wandered back toward the village. Soon the sounds of metal clashing reached me and I froze, listening for everything I was worth. From the forest came the armed-to-the-teeth outcast solders we had encountered when I arrived. Without a shield to speak of, I decided to find out if they were a threat before I charged. What I saw when they came into view made my mind up for me. **

**The others, they were in the center of a circle made of heavily armored outcasts. I couldn't hear what was being said, but when they passed by I put Star down giving the 'stay' motion and drew my sword. Sweeping a leg under the leg of the man closest to me I rolled out sword up. **

**Someone within the group called. I didn't know who, and I wasn't concerned. I decided wit was my best option. **

**I scoffed. I heard laughing and decided not to push my luck. Having disarmed two of them, I threw Astrid an ax and Snotlout the mace. **

**A fight ensued that left most of us heavily scratched up. As soon as all the outcasts were disarmed we made for the village. Luckily they hadn't sent very many in terms of numbers. Stoic was visibly releived. Aparantly he had heard all the commotion on his way back from rounds. **

**He asked. Hiccup went into a lengthy explanation about having left dragon training and having went out to look for stray dragon eggs they may have fallen off the cliffs and being ambushed. The rest of the story I had been there for was a bit more puffed up than suited my taste but I imagine adrenaline will do that to a person. **

**When he was finished Stoic just looked at me like I'd grown wings and a tail. **

**He seemed a bit flustered. He turned and left to get Gobber. Looking at Hiccup in confusion I hoped he would explain what was going on. **

**He looked around the group and everyone did as they were told. Star had followed me back once the fight was over and was currently stretched out in my arms. I gave her a little scratch on the head. He finished. **

**On the way over I couldn't help but ask. I almost whispered. **

**He explained quickly. I nodded. The others had joked with him about being Chief one day, but I saw the leader in him. He didn't seem interested in it, but he knew what was going on and what that meant for everyone. As we settled down in the hall, I was left alone with my thoughts in the too-loud mass of excited vikings.**


End file.
